Ole Edvart Roulvag ( Norwegian Rølvaag, Ole Edvart ) [1] ( April 22, 1876 , Roulwag, Donna , Norway - November 5, 1931 , Northfield , Minnesota , USA ) - American Norwegian writer, college professor and lecturer, most known for the epic novel " ".
Ole Edward Roulwag | |
---|---|
Ole Edvart Rølvaag | |
Birth name | Ole Edward Pedersen |
Date of Birth | April 22, 1876 |
Place of Birth | Rawlvag, Denna Island, Norway |
Date of death | November 5, 1931 (55 years old) |
Place of death | Northfield , Minnesota , United States |
Citizenship | Norway, United States |
Occupation | novelist |
Awards |
Although many works of art were published in the Norwegian language in the USA at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries , the best Rowwag novel became the only one to take place, although rather modest, in the American “literary canon” [2] . He is considered one of the best works, “explaining the experience and drama of immigration, the settlement of the prairies of the West and the problems of assimilation” [3] . His novel, along with the works of Willa Keser , set the standard for stories about the settling of the Great Plains, but unlike the softer Kesser creates hard contrasts between strength and weakness, people and nature, hope and despair [4] .
Content
Biography
Ole Edward Pedersen was born to a fisherman’s family in the village of Rawlvag on the island of Denna off the northern coast of Norway. At home, he studied only in a rural elementary school, attended a public library, and from the age of 14 he was engaged in fishing with his relatives. Now his bust is set in the village.
In 1896, twenty- year -old boys Ole Edvart came to the United States, worked for three years on his uncle's farm in South Dakota . In an effort to get an education, despite poor knowledge of English, lack of money and illness, Roulwag spent another three years studying in secondary school ( ), then he entered the in Northfield , who graduated in 1905 [5] . Thanks to the abilities of the young man, the administration gave him the opportunity to study an extra year in Norway, after which Roulwag began teaching Norwegian at this college [5] [6] .
In 1908 he received American citizenship and married Jenny Maria Berdal. They had four children, one of the sons - - later became governor of Minnesota ( 1963 - 1967 ). now included in the list of US National Historic Landmarks .
The first novels of Rawlvag were published in the ethnically-church publishing house of Minneapolis and aroused only limited interest even among the Norwegian public. The first two of them came out under a pseudonym. He was known as a teacher, author of textbooks for students of colleges and high schools and a lecturer who traveled around the Midwest (he spoke in Norwegian) [6] . In February 1926, Roulwag founded the in college and was elected its first secretary and archivist, organizing the collection of documents related to the life of Norwegians in the United States.
During an academic holiday in Norway, he completed his novel, The Earth Giants. The novel was first published in Norway ( 1924–1925 ) and gained fame in Europe, after which in 1927 the New York publishing house published its English translation.
In 1926, the writer was awarded the Order of St. Olaf , and glory soon came to the United States. The writer was interviewed, he spoke on the radio, new works and translations of old were reviewed in major newspapers and magazines [7] . Due to heart disease, he left the teaching and devoted himself to the completion of the trilogy (it also included the novels "Peder the Winner" and "God of their Father"). Rawlvag died in 1931 at the age of 55 years. The sketches of his English autobiography Romance of a Life [8] have been preserved.
Creativity
The first published work of Roulwag was the epistolary novel "American Letters" ( 1912 ), based on the personal correspondence of the author. A young emigrant in the years 1898-1901 , in letters to his father and brother to his homeland, describes the history of meeting with a new country, receiving education and cultural adaptation [6] .
The second novel, “The Forgotten Ways” ( 1914 ) was written on a religious theme: a devout daughter devotes herself to saving the soul of her feeble father — a heartless intriguer and an atheist. In the novel, there are pages with a description of the region and the history of its development by man [7] .
The third novel “Two Fools” ( 1920 ), the first one published under his own name, describes the life story of a pair of Lizi and Lewis, young peasants who start their own farm, but then they take possession of the love of money, and finally they die in complete poverty, hiding in purses on a belt of 100 thousand dollars [7] .
The Roulwag trilogy, which was opened by the Earth Giants novel, covers the time span of 1873-96 and describes the life of first and second generation immigrants. It is believed that the author sought to translate the idea that the Norwegians, in order to become good Americans, must first of all preserve their ethnic identity and develop their own cultural traditions, "taking the Jews as a model." At the same time, the transition from the Old to the New World is difficult in general, but fascinating and beneficial [5] [9] .
The romance begins with the journey of immigrants Per Hans and his wife Takes across the prairies to a site in South Dakota. If Beret lives with a sense of guilt for leaving the old house and sees the prairies as the “end of the world” abandoned by God, then Per lives with the thought of the future and considers the new land to be his home. If for the former fisherman Per the sea of grass means opportunities for swimming, and he perceives the landscape as a fairy-tale kingdom, for Beret it means nothing. The usual difficulties, diseases, blizzards for Per - challenges the conqueror. He takes them as signs of rock and God's displeasure: inside the earth there are some “giants” who resist their efforts to turn the prairies into farms. The book ends with Per’s dying during a blizzard, following the pastor for a sick neighbor [3] [4] .
If in the Norwegian edition of the novel the notes explained Americanisms, the English translation explained the Norwegian words [10] . After the publication of the English translation, Norwegian Americans began to criticize Roulwag, claiming that he portrays compatriots in a bad light, and tried to achieve his dismissal from college [11] .
In the other novels of the trilogy, the main character, along with Beret, is their youngest son Peder, who, despite the warnings of his mother, marries an Irish girl. Marriage is unsuccessful, the wife with children abandon Peder, and the hero's political ambitions, fueled by selfishness, end in defeat in elections to local governments [8] .
based on the novel The Earth Giants, written by the composer according to the libretto by , was awarded the in 1951 .
Works
Novels:
- Amerika-breve fra PA Smevik til hans far og bror i Norge (American Letters, 1912); in English per. The Third Life of Per Smevik (The Third Life of Per Smevik, 1971)
- Paa Glemte Veie (The Forgotten Ways, 1914); not translated
- To Tullinger: Et Billede frå idag ("Two Fools", 1920); in English per. Pure Gold ("Pure Gold", 1930)
- Længselens Baat (1921); in English per. The Boat of Longing ("Ship of desire, 1933)
- Giants in the Earth (born 1927). Norwegian two-volume edition:
- I de Dage - In Those Days (1923)
- Riket Grundlægges - Founding the Kingdom (1924)
- Peder Seier ; in English per. Peder Victorious (1929)
- Den Signede Dag ; Their Father's God (translated in 1931)
Digest of articles:
- Omkring fædrearven - Concerning Our Heritage (1922)
Notes
- ↑ meets the writing " Rolvaag " (in the translation of "Literary History of the United States"); according to the practical transcription from Norwegian - “ Rölvog ”
- ↑ Overland, 2009 , p. 786, 790.
- ↑ 1 2 Overland, 2009 , p. 793.
- ↑ 1 2 Quantic, 2003 , p. 222.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Pochmany, 1978 , p. 231.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Overland, 2009 , p. 791.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Overland, 2009 , p. 792.
- ↑ 1 2 Overland, 2009 , p. 794.
- ↑ Overland, 2009 , p. 793-794.
- ↑ Overland, 2009 , p. 776.
- ↑ Overland, 2009 , p. 775.
Literature
- Overland O. American, but not in English: immigrant literature in the United States // History of literature of the USA. - M .: IMLI RAN, 2009. - V. 5: Literature at the beginning of the 20th century . - p . 790-795 .
- Pochmani, GA A. The Blending of Languages // Literary History of the USA: In 3 tons. - M .: Progress, 1978. - V. 2 . - pp . 230-231 .
- Diane D. Quantic. The Great Plains // Companion to the Regional Literatures of America. - Blackwell, 2003.
- Jorgenson, Theodore and Solum, Nora O. Ole Edvart Rölvaag: A Biography (Harper and Brothers, 1939)
- Reigstad, Paul . Rolvaag: His Life and Art (University of Nebraska Press, 1972)
- Thorson, Gerald . Ole Rolvaag, Artist and Cultural Leader (St. Olaf College Press, 1975)
- Simonson, Harold P. Prairies Within: The Tragic Trilogy of Ole Rolvaag (University of Washington Press, 1987)
- Moseley, Ann . Ole Edvart Rolvaag (Boise State University Bookstore, 1987)
- Eckstein, Neil Truman . Marginal Man As Novelist: The Norwegian-American Writers HH Boyesen and OE Rolvaag (Taylor & Francis, 1990)
- Haugen, Einar Ingvald . Ole Edvart Rölvaag (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1983)
Links
- St Olaf College - Rolvaag Memorial Library
- Two Novelists of the Northwest Prairie Frontier . (Texas Christian University Press, 1998.)
- Rolvaag's Search for Soria Moria by Raychel A. Haugrud (Norwegian-American Historical Association. Volume 26: Page 103)
- Dear Sara Alelia: An Episode in Rølvaag's Life Einar Haugen (Norwegian-American Historical Association. Volume 31: Page 269)
- The Social Criticism of Ole Edvart Rølvaag by Neil T. Eckstein (Norwegian-American Historical Association. Volume 24: Page 112)
- Rølvaag's Lost Novel by Einar Haugen (Norwegian-American Historical Association. Volume 32: Page 209)
- The Norwegian-American Historical Association. The Scandinavian Immigrant Writer in America by Dorothy Burton Skardal (Volume 21: Page 14)